After Times of Tender Agony: Ch. 2

Stealing Moments

Notes:

Here is Chapter 2!!! Still no trauma, just some light fluff :) The story will be a little slow until we reach the trauma, though, so perhaps if you're bored you may want the trauma.... 🤷‍♀️

*****

“Now was that really so horrible?” Sara asked with a smile, taking hold of the chivalrous hand Janner offered her as she stepped out of the carriage.

“Yes,” he replied, halfway joking, linking arms with her and leading her toward the port—being sure to nod at Annierans lining the road when need be—where the Ban Ronan ship, whose name he had yet to hear or see, had docked several minutes earlier.

Sara was in the middle of smiling to and waving at people, so it took an extra few moments for her to turn her attention back toward him. “Janner, it can’t have been that miserable!”

He would have replied, but they had gotten to the part when they were right at the port, meaning it was time for whichever regents had managed to make it into the region to pay homage by bowing. That essentially meant Brastin, Haldrid, and Artham—the latter of whom had been allowed to simply stroll from Castle Rysen to the port, rather than being forced to ride in a carriage—saying little things respectively and promising to help keep Anniera from burning to the ground when he was gone. Based on the way the corners of his mouth turned upward, Artham said that purposely to make Janner smile at the dark humor. Arundelle pinched the bridge of her nose in response to her husband’s comment.

Nia countered the statement, saying Anniera would continue to run smoothly in the midst of the autumn season, and Leeli promised she would help, though by the way she kept glancing at and giggling with her cousin, Ilana, it seemed a bit unlikely. 

The trouble came when he and Sara had passed through all the necessary people and come to the point at which only the dock, the gangplank, and Blazing Fruit (trust the Hollish to name something after fruit, though it may have been part of a bargain they struck with the ridgerunners) lay before them. It meant it was time for some sort of address, a short one, one that would prove incredibly awkward. 

“Annierans, the royal family, the regents, those who have gathered here from Rysentown and beyond, thank you for joining us here today.” Applause sounded for absolutely no reason, and Janner bit the inside of his cheek as he waited for it to stop. “Lady Sara Cobbler and I are embarking on the voyage to the annual Conference of Kingdoms, held this year in Torrboro.”

Haldrid put up one hand briefly, and Janner smiled, glad to place the attention on someone else, if only for a moment, especially considering that Haldrid didn’t mind it one bit. “My King, the necessary financial and informational documents are among the ship’s cargo, correct?”

Janner nodded. “Yes, Haldrid, they are. Thank you for your studiousness in checking.” For the eleventh time, he thought briefly, though the attention of the people had shifted, if only for a few seconds, and that was good. “We will arrive back in two months, if the winds blow favorably…” 

What followed was a stumbling speech since after four years, he still hadn’t become any more proficient in creating them and speaking to crowds. He chose not to remember details regarding the “speech” and instead only kept hold of the uncomfortably humiliating bits only he actually remembered.*

They started up the gangplank once it was over, Sara first, assisted by the captain, Greston. Janner smiled as he walked behind Sara, looking forward to the casual normalcy of a handshake. One of the few people in Anniera Janner felt as though he could actually talk to without having to worry about any royal-strangeness, Greston had been one of the Fangs who chose to become a person again. Though it made more sense for the Ban Ronan captain to sail, Greston had insisted, saying he wanted to deliver his king safely to Skree. Refusing would have been uncomfortable for the Hollish, and though Janner didn’t like taking advantage of the title and position, it was nice knowing another person aboard the ship would treat him normally. He also had a feeling it was a collaborative effort between Greston and Artham to keep an eye on him. 

Greston’s firm handshake came as expected, and Janner actually smiled for the first time that day. Not that Sara wasn’t enough to make him smile, but up to that moment, each smile had had stress and worry and anxiety dancing along beside it. This smile, however, did not.

“Good morning, Janner,” Greston greeted him warmly, mercifully bypassing formalities. “The reports I heard from the Hollish sailors about the sea and wind seem favorable. Feel free to stay on deck as we sail out, and if you’d like an escort when you and Sara head to your cabins, simply ask. If you wish to get there yourselves, you’re welcome to do that as well. And the other representatives are that way.” he indicated toward the starboard side of the ship, pointing at Owen, the library vice-manager, and Joe, the head of one of the more elite Durgan patrols. 

“Thank you,” Janner said, and after taking hold of Sara’s hand and leading her to the ship’s rail, he inhaled deeply, feeling as though he was breathing for the first time. And they weren’t even out of the cove yet.

“Hoist the sail and raise the anchor!” Greston called above his crew’s chatter. “Out of port, and then on to Skree!”

*****

Out on the Dark Sea of Darkness, with nothing ahead of them or around them but open water and waves and everything behind them, Janner almost felt like laughing. There was something so lovely about standing on the deck of a ship, leaning against the rail and looking down at the white foam clinging to the hull and out at the endless blue, occasionally sparkling to life when a gull cried overhead, or a shimmering sea creature surfaced. 

He couldn’t help but wonder if they would see any of the Sea Dragons during their voyage, for not all the Dragons had received the healing Water from the First Well and had their wings restored. The majority of them still swam beneath the waves, their kingdom still there as well, marking their territory, their domain. 

The wondering happened aloud briefly, though with no more words than, “I wonder if we’ll see any dragons.” This sparked a slew of unexpected conversation that required him to restate things he had already said many times, though not to them specifically. 

Yes, they could have asked the Dragons to transport them from Anniera to Skree, but he couldn’t help but feel as though it was cheating of an odd sort. No, arriving at the conference was not a game to be played, but if one was to attend a diplomatic conference, one had to do so properly. And, yes, he was using “one” correctly.

The reason for this coming up, of course, was because Joe, who was Janner’s old friend from Durgan Guild, asked and Owen, the library worker whom he had hit it off splendidly with years ago, already knew the answer but wanted a re-telling anyway.

“It’s largely because Joe isn’t the only one who’s asked,” Owen explained, in terms of the dragon question. “Others have too, and it’s getting rather irritating. Being able to say, ‘because the King of Anniera said so,’ will carry more weight than you would think.”

Janner did manage to laugh at that, because removed from land and out on the open sea, it seemed like such a simple thing, an informal thing, being King of a people. 

It wasn’t as though he disliked or scorned the responsibility attached to the title. There was a sort of contentment attached to fulfilling his role as Steward of the Throne (a title only he called himself since no one else would approve), the idea that it was only for a time, it was in his precious brother’s stead, it was the Maker’s request of him, it was his duty. He did not have a problem being king, and he didn’t even really mind the formalities all that much, certainly not as much as Kal would have minded them. 

What bothered him was the awkwardness, the inability to approach people, the unnerving atmosphere when leaving the castle walls. He simply didn’t think he was a person then, just a title, a figure. Changing that had been one of his goals early on—after all, his father didn’t have that problem! However, unlike Esben, Janner had been unable to harvest alongside his people (the first time three years ago had been the last up until that point, as he had successfully scared Nia half to death when he came down with something nasty that lasted far too long) and all other forms of hard labor were thereafter out of the question. He had met several victories among the young ones of Anniera, though. The only issue was that the children were the ones who had almost always acted normally around him; it was their parents and his peers he wished would learn from those who were younger.

Janner felt a hand slide across his, pulling him away from his thoughts. He smiled, knowing it was Sara, then took hold of her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing her fingers. “And how are you faring?”

“I haven’t drifted so far into thought that my companions have left to chat elsewhere,” she noted pointedly.

“How could you tell?”

Smiling, Sara placed her palm against his chest. “Your hand was near your heart again, fiddling with that chain.”

Embarrassment tempted him and won. “Sorry,” Janner murmured, glancing back and seeing that Joe and Owen had indeed left and were now speaking with one of the less preoccupied sailors. 

Sara rested her head against his shoulder briefly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re not offended or anything. But I would like to know what you’re thinking so intently about.”

Janner found himself fingering the strap of the satchel he had removed from and placed back over his shoulder at least fifteen times the sail that had only lasted two hours. Somehow that seemed a bit less odd than fiddling with a hidden chain and crest. “Nothing much,” he said softly. “Though I am looking forward to some façade of normalcy these next few weeks.”

“You know some of the most agonizing formality comes after that, right?” Sara asked him, her brow knotted a bit.

Sighing, Janner spun her around briefly, as if twirling her in the middle of a dance. “Of course I do. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment right now.”

Sara hummed, as if countering his logic.

“Okay, fine,” he admitted. “It’s impossible for me to completely enjoy the moment. I know that. But I’m at least trying to enjoy it a bit! Will you enjoy it with me?”

“How, exactly?” she murmured, flickering teasing glinting in her eyes briefly before she looked out at the water. Now her blue eyes blazed the color of the setting sun. 

Janner smiled. “By just being here,” he whispered, pulling her closer. “And savoring the moment.”

It was a lovely moment.

*****

Notes:

*The reason why there's no speech here is because months ago I typed in those two sentences of a "speech" you're given and left myself a comment that said "come up with something later." Shockingly I never came up with anything decent and instead gave Janner my reaction to giving impromptu mini-speeches and skipped the actual speech.

Anyway-

See? Just like I promised: fluff and no trauma :DD

Please let me know if anything seems clunky or non-canonical! Thank you for reading and commenting <3